Charles V, The Almudaina and Maudlin Mundanity

When I used to teach English (well, that was the theory) to unruly mobs of malodorous, disinterested youths in Ibiza, I was always struck by their simplistic view of life where the mundane always triumphed spectacularly over the impressive.

For instance, the answers, 'Ibiza's MP in Madrid,' 'Mayor of Ibiza Town,' and 'top AIDS specialist,' to my question what job does your dad do? were all met with insouciant silence. Whereas 'lorry driver' drew gasps of admiration and even requests for further details like 'what colour is it.....red?'

Sometimes, it suddenly dawns on you that the behaviour of others that you've found amusing is exactly the same as our own...............

Jaki and I took a tour of Palma's magnificent Almudaina palace, captured without a scrap from the Moors 800 years ago - they gave up after taking several severe maulings from James I - and subsequently home to Christian rulers of the island, the region, the country and the odd empire.

On the wall was a portrait of Charles V, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, master of four milion square kilometres of territory, heir to four dynasties (thanks to intermarriage), keeper of many mistresses, scourge of the Ottoman Empire and even better, the dastardly French, and coiner of the phrase "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse"

Were we bothered? Er, no.

What impressed us was his enormous, protruding lower jaw (thanks to intermarriage) which made it impossible to chew or eat his food properly. He suffered from indigestion all his life and always ate alone. Now that's interesting!

Picasa Palma Photo Album